Saving on necessities: How Russians cope with costly water and toilet paper

Viatcheslav Zarutski is a 29-year-old Russian who moved to Gdansk on February 11, 2022, just a few days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and then relocated to Warsaw a few months later.

His YouTube channel, where he describes the reality of Russia compared to the realities of life in Poland, is growing dynamically.

He has now decided to address the topic of savings in his home country. One Russian has revealed a method to save money on water and toilet paper. He decided to share everything in one of the articles Viatcheslav Zarutski translated.

A friend once told me that he doesn't buy toilet paper and saves a lot on water. We live near a shopping center and go there to use the bathroom when we need to. Sometimes we also go in the bushes - says the main character of the article.

The Russian emphasises that his family of three consumed between 16,000 and 20,000 litres of cold water, which means that the bills for gas and water were very high. For this reason, he implemented a savings plan.

I was tired of paying such high bills. I decided to listen to my neighbor and start using the bathroom at the shopping mall. I also bought two containers for water, which I get from a spring located 10 minutes away from my house. It's completely free - adds the main character of the article.

As we hear, the price of water in Russia is around 600-700 rubles, and its quality is very poor. Thanks to the savings, we now pay around 400 rubles less for water, emphasises the Russian.

These are not the first problems in Russia related to toilet paper. After the war started, there were reports that flight attendants had to ensure that passengers did not take toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels from the plane.

The crews were said to receive an official order to introduce such measures on a test basis, which later became permanent.